After the demise of the Firm, the team found itself split apart (even a if a few riders rejoined forces elsewhere).
Well, Ray Barbee decided that Element Skateboards would be the best place for him to ooze his flavour and pop a few cheeky no-comply variations.
Good vibrations.
10 o’clock meet at the park and quickly cut a stencil for the makeshift steward tees after assembling the tonne of fencing, and the faces start to appear, among them, eothen from eothen skateboards, poch from somewhere, the Bucks Boarding Crew, some Kent boys, the cock skateboards lot, and Jed and James from simple…
Everyone gets right to it with the Cock skate crew busting out some wild and wacky tricks on the mini while froggy and I session the channel gap, me succeeding, then failing miserably for the cameras!
Just as the call for entries goes out, the heavens open and the crowd disperses while others rush to desperately throw the tarp over the mini. After half an hour of torrential downpour, we decided to fuck the park comp off, grab the beer and prizes, and hit up bottle alley (a local landmark built in the early 40’s, 400m long alley with banks one side, and coloured glass shards in the walls the other, all situated under Hastings seafront).
After waiting for a call to see if the park was dry, and a session on the ledges, we decide to make the most of another day of typical British weather and have the comp down there.
First up was best trick on the ledges, Asher hit a f/s 50 50 to ride in, BBC Alex tried some shuv wall rides, (at 9yrs old!), Jono (cock) tried some layback 5-0’s but local Rob wins with a perfect wall ride 50/50 all the way along and in.
Next up craziest drop in, seeing Asher (cock) win with a blindfolded nollie out of nose blunt into the tight incline, well deserved! Then a mass game of skate won by local ripper Toby. Next up longest Ollie. At one end a crutch, at the other, some fresh death wood. Gradually the distance gets larger, and the contenders start falling, until Andy from Kent steals the glory from Aaron Derman (cock) at about 9feet!
Next, longest manual won by Giles from BBC, followed by Badger and Rob. Cool John took a harsh slam slipping out on his hard pink wheels, nasty! Next up highest Ollie, won my Joe Sandland, and Aaron Derman, at 6 decks before highest hippy jump, won by Murren at about nipple height.
Next, my highlight, the tic-tac racing from one end to the other. Now that was a sight, 30+ skaters Tic-Tacking into the lead in a 10ft wide alley! After 3 heats (to nacker them out), Dylan Ewing came out on top, after Joe fucked up trying to show off over the finish line! Then power slides through the puddle comp, where the winner (max) was the only one not to fall into this mix of cider, rain and tramps piss! After a few more prizes are given out, we decide to call it a day. A true underground (literally) skate comp, just what was needed, where all had fun and prizes!
The after party was also a huge success, with the WADA pirate video from Sk8-Goa, a Witness the Shitness Cock Skateboard advert (can’t wait!) and the cock skate euro flick. Then some rock and roll from Gorilla, a huge disco by the jukebox to So Solid Crew & Queen, more rawk from regular John, then into the 7seaters to Cool Johns where more drink was to be had alongside best trick comp on his indoor vert wall! Everyone passed out about 5AM on an awesome day! That’s what Hastings is about, who needs flashy skate comps when you’ve got alleyways full of amped skaters?!?!
Thanks go to Death, Duffs, The Source, Eothen, Simple, SK8-GOA, Bucks Boarding Centre, and Sidewalk for all the prizes, Document & Crossfire for coverage, Heroes for the after party, the bands, JP, Asher and Tom for the vids, me for MCing the day, Matt Davey for council bullshit, everyone who helped with fencing, rufus + deano for the PA and Joe for all his hard work…See you next year!!!!
SR
I don’t know if this is news but Dread Head Supremo, Karl Watson, has shaved his head and now rocks the fade.
Don’t Rastas lose their power if they do that..?
Meanwhile, Crossfire can drop the exclusive news that JB Gillet now rides for Gold Wheels after running into the Kayo boys whilst filming for the new Lakai video in Barcelona.
The Lemonheads are to release their first album in 10 years on September 25th. This will be their 8th album and for it, Evan Dando brought in drummer Bill Stevenson and bassist Karl Alvarez [both of Descendents fame].
A single, Become The Enemy, taken from the self-titled album, will be released on October 9th. In addition to this, the group will play a 12 date UK tour:
October:
5th – Norwich, UEA
6th – London, Forum
9th – Leeds, Met University
10th – Oxford, Brookes University
11th – Cambridge, Junction
12th – Liverpool, Carling Academy
14th – Coventry, Coliseum
15th – Nottingham, Rock City
16th – Manchester, Academy 2
17th – Glasgow, ABC
21st – Bristol, Academy
22nd – Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
Zero 7, who are coming off the back of a sell out US tour which included the Hollywood Bowl, are back in the UK and will continue to showcase material from their 3rd album The Garden. The dates in the UK are as follows:
October:
25th – Sheffield, Plug
26th – Edinburgh, Usher Hall
27th – Manchester, Academy
28th – London, Brixton Academy
When Element realized there was a lot of untapped talent abroad, it didn’t take long for the Element Europe team to start turning heads and make a name for themselves on the old continent.
Well, today the skate world is no longer reduced to the West Coast of America and a lot of the major American companies are following Element’s trail and starting up their own Euro divisions.
So far Blind have scooped up Jani Laitiala but couldn’t get their hands on Petr Horvat who chose Habitat Europe, and finally Zero has started sending equipment to Dominic Dietrich. Apparently the Chief tried his hardest to get Steve Forstner but Steve stood strong and remains on Antiz Skateboards.
Globe Shoes have also been working hard promoting their Euro team, and this footage proves that Europe is the place to be right now..
What’s all this then, it seems Consolidated Skateboards have designed a shoe aptly titled the ‘Drunk‘ featuring a stylish banana logo…..
New decks for Karma, Bailey, Roberto Aleman, and Jub are all featured in the new Consolidated catalogue that you can view here.
The Deftones are returning to the music scene with their first full album since their self-titled effort of 2003. The new album, Saturday Night Wrist, will feature the vocal talents of Serj Tankian of System Of A Down on the track Mein. The tracklist for the album is:
1. Hole In The Earth
2. FM
3. Beware
4. Cherry Waves
5. Mein
6. Interlude
7. Tilde
8. Rats!Rats!Rats!
9. Pink Cellphone
10. Combat
11. The Earth
12. Comanche
The first single, Hole In The Earth, can be viewed here:
If you’re skating through Lyon (France) on the 10th September, make sure you drop by the Skatepark in Gerland for Wall Street Skateshop’s first “Street” contest.
No major prize money. No extreme camera men. No frills – Just chill. The party starts at 11am and there are prizes to be won for everyone.
Check out the Wall Street website for more info and updated footage of their team riders
Snakes On A Plane starring Samuel L. Jackson – is it a hit or miss? That is what the critics are saying but what about the soundtrack?
We can tell you that it’s not an average crappy soundtrack featuring Celine Dion and Whitney Houston (who is alleged to have a fan in Osama Bin Laden thesedays!) but it is made up of many Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen acts that you may well of heard of by now.
Cobra Starship, fronted by former Midtown member Gabe Saporta, was asked to write the title song to this inevitably smash hit movie and invited friends William Beckett (from The Academy Is…), Travis McCoy (from Gym Class Heroes) and Maja Ivarsson (from The Sounds) to help him out. The result is completely catchy, aided by a belting chorus from Saporta, divided by bridges and verses from his guest stars, who all add their individual characteristics to the tempo of the tune.
As well as featured remixes from Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is…, Panic! At The Disco, Gym Class Heroes and The Hush Sound, other tracks come from The Bronx, Armor For Sleep, the All-American Rejects, Jack’s Mannequin and Coheed and Cambria among other lesser known artists.
Check out the track list below, this record is out now.
Tracklisting:
1. Cobra Starship (with The Academy Is…, Gym Class Heroes and the Sounds) – “Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)” – play the video on this page
2. Panic! at the Disco – “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage” (Tommie Sunshine Brooklyn Fire Remix)
3. The Academy Is… – “Black Mamba” (Teddybears Remix)
4. Cee-Lo Green and Organized Noize – “Ophidiophobia”
5. All-American Rejects – “Can’t Take It” (El Camino Prom Wagon Mix)
6. The Sounds – “Queen Of Apology” (Patrick Stump Remix)
7. Fall Out Boy – “Of All The Gin Joints In All The World” (Tommie Sunshine’s Brooklyn Fire Retouch)
8. Gym Class Heroes – “New Friend Request” (Hi-Tek Remix)
9. The Bronx – “Around The Horn” (Louis XIV Remix) – play this track on this page
10. Armor For Sleep – “Remember To Feel Real” (Machine Shop Remix)
11. The Hush Sound – “Wine Red” (Tommie Sunshine’s Brooklyn Fire Retouch)
12. Jack’s Mannequin – “Bruised” (Remix)
13. Coheed And Cambria – “Wake Up” (Acoustic)
14. Donavon Frankenreiter – “Lovely Day”
15. Michael Franti & Spearhead – “Hey Now Now”
16. Trevor Rabin – “Snakes on a Plane – the Theme” (Score)